One of the most popular trends in the fashion industry this year has been brand generated content. From online blogzines to Tumblr-powered micro sites, branded content is quickly becoming a cost effective, long-term online marketing strategy that the fashion industry will continue to utilize as brands and retailers look for new, innovative ways to connect with customers online.

Branded content creation serves several purposes: customer entertainment, stealth advertising and social engagement. Brands that excel at this take branded content a step further, making it a tool that bloggers and other online magazines can use for their websites.

In 2011, branded content is going to be the consumer fashion marketing trend to watch. In order to see the evolution of how fashion labels leverage branded content, we should start at the beginning and review the best content from 2010.

1. Louis Vuitton – NOWNESS

Since consumers have been able to shop online, the most successful retailers with e-commerce have been those that set their brands apart by creating an experiential story. Those experiential stories are crafted though every communication tool – packaging and signage, highly stylized display advertising photography for print, radio and television ads that are then translated to the web, social networks and now mobile apps.

In 2010, no one did this better than Louis Vuitton and its NOWNESS. This website set the standard for the way almost any other fashion brand or retailer approached creating their own content. LVMH indirectly curated its world and the story it wanted to tell through the people who contributed to it in writing, photography and film, not directly as a brand itself. Burberry’s Art Of The Trench, Ann Taylor’s ArtSheSaid and even a fashion film available in Stella McCartney’s new iPad app are strangely reminiscent of the content style found in NOWNESS.

Ruth Staiman, a luxury marketing expert explained "The brand's first venture into branded content came in print in the late 1990s with the City Guides — small volumes of exclusive tips for the Louis lifestyle. City Guide 2011 debuted on NOWNESS with whimsical YouTube videos touring Paris, New York City and Berlin. And the Art of Travel video on Louis Vuitton’s YouTube channel lets anyone experience the Louis Vuitton lifestyle. The channel has 50 videos, and the Art of Travel Page on Facebook has over 1,750,000 'Likes.' "

Through NOWNESS, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Louis Vuitton has created a community that shares this content 24/7 globally to support the heritage of its brand and a new frontier of influencers.

To complete the assessment of NOWNESS, Nima Abbasi, founding partner of Syndicate Media Group said, “The beauty of NOWNESS is that it doesn’t feel like branded content. It’s a mix of editorial and video with a distinct, independent point of view that you can't get anywhere else – and that’s what consumers are craving. A good example of how luxury brands can participate in the social digital space and keep their brand cachet intact.”

2. Net-A-Porter Magazine - iPad App

Net-A-Porter Magazine's app for the iPad and iPhone is my pick for the best execution of branded content on a mobile platform. Perhaps one of the best shopping mobile apps available, the Net-A-Porter app, lets users watch exclusive video content including runway shows and interviews, share product suggestions via social networks and share feedback about their shopping experience.

Hamilton South, founding partner of HL Group, a strategic marketing and media consultancy, further explained the success of Net-A-Porter’s branded mobile content. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Net-A-Porter’s success; they know their customer extraordinarily well. They consistently engage her via editorial content that is expertly mixed into the e-commerce landscape, a strategy they largely pioneered. There is, however, an opportunity for Net-A-Porter to tell a larger, richer story about their brand as they continue to develop and expand the app in 2011. The best social media and branded content executions out there are driven by narrative, not commerce, and the Net-A-Porter iPad app still feels heavily anchored in transaction.”

3. Club Monaco – Culture Club

Though Club Monaco was fashionably late to the social media party, it made up for it this year by launching one of the top five branded blogs online. Reminiscent of Test, Club Monaco’s Culture Club is a curated digital heaven within the folds of its main website. The micro site, Culture Club, features the people, places and things that inspire its staff and friends. The curation changes every month, as do the featured contributors. Culture is really a genius idea for a brand on a budget; you can’t go wrong crowd sourcing content from your personal social circles.

4. Alice + Olivia - 4AM Finds

Alice + Olivia, a brand that loves social experiments, crossed technology and fashion in its blog column 4AM Finds. Similar to the editorial must-have spreads you find in InStyle or Vanity Fair, a guest writer contributes a post about items that are hot or in-demand. Of course, one or two Alice + Olivia products are strategically integrated. 4AM Finds is a fresh way of selling through product visuals and editorial content, much like magazines do now.

5. Anthropologie – The Anthropologist

Following in the footsteps of NOWNESS, Anthropologie’s The Anthropologist is a thought-provoking, inspirational, authentic journey that one can embark upon via video or photography. The connection to Anthropologie is not explicitly stated, with the exception of the copyright on the about us page. The brand has associated itself with the project, without completely taking it over.

Whitney Holum, a digital marketing specialist, said “The wonderful thing about Anthropologie'sAnthropologist is that it brings a sense of personality to their brand ... It allows a space for their guests to have a conversation with them far removed from a customer service channel. There is no product push, they have simply created a space where sharing the ideas and creativity of others acts as a catalyst [for] spreading creativity and possibility. The look, feel and essence of the curated content epitomizes anthropology itself, the study of humanity, and in that it truly personifies the Anthropologie brand. If guests click through to their e-commerce site, or arrive at their website because of the search results populated by the words of Anthropologist, that's simply a bonus and not the goal.”

6. Gwyneth Paltrow - GOOP

Goop isn’t a blog or a mobile app. It’s a weekly newsletter founded by Gwyneth Paltrow and delivered to your inbox. Paltrow actually launched GOOP in 2008. It delivers simple messages and features relating to one of six categories – go, get, make, be, see and do. “My life is good because I am not passive about it,” Paltrow writes. “I want to nourish what is real, and I want to do it without wasting time. I love to travel, to cook, to eat, to take care of my body and mind, to work hard.”

The newsletter is simplistic, offering curated selections and recommendation in each of the categories. Consumers have always had an overabundance of choice when it comes to apparel, fashion and beauty. GOOP was the starting point of curated content and product selection, a trend that’s evolved into online shopping models for sites such as Of A Kind, StyleTrek and AHALife. Allowing online shoppers to simultaneously experience a product and an individual’s of view or story via one shopping portal became a defining e-commerce trend in 2010.

7. French Connection - Manifesto

In 2010, brands, designers and retailers realized that men do in fact shop too; now it’s all about marketing to men. Contemporary men’s brand French Connection has steadily and consistently been doing its men’s Manifesto. This year, FCUK Man and Manifesto have earned a place as one of the top five style blogs for men on the web.

What makes Manifesto successful is the way it talks to its Gen Y customer, from its graphics to its editorial point of view, easy-to-read format, and it's engaging and entertaining style. Not every brand can start off with complex branded content initiatives, but a well-written, relevant blog is a great place to start.

So What’s Next for Fashion Brands and Branded Content?

Fashion brands and retailers’ approaches to branded content will continue to evolve; the examples above are already indicative of that. The value of branded content from a budgetary consideration is significant, especially when combined with the cost effectiveness of social media marketing. More retailers and brands are expected to jump on board.

Veronica Carvallo, social media manager at Attention USA, shares her insight on the budgetary considerations of branded content and what a brand needs to consider when creating successful content. “Branded content’s value (and budget spends) has significantly increased in the past year,” Cavallo says. “Social media marketing has had a pivotal role on the increased inclusion of branded content in marketing plans; helping achieve a balance between entertainment and education, satisfying a consumer need without an in-your-face presentation of a product."

What are your thoughts on the use of branded content as it relates to fashion brands in 2011?

Macala Wright is the Director of Digital for POWER 106. Her insights and writing have been featured in PSFK, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and more. You can follower her on Twitter @Macala.

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